Unwilling Suspension of Belief
by Reilynn
Summary: ML. Diverges right after Prodigy, becomes AU. Logan finds out who tried to kill him, and may yet try again. Ch. 7 up. TBC soon
1. On the Mount

**Disclaimer**: No infringement intended. Not affiliated in any way with anyone. Nothing to sue here people, move along. I don't own anything here. I am not making any money on this.

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Unwilling Suspension of Belief

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You are not going to believe it. Diverges from right after Prodigy, becomes AU.

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Scene 1: On the Mount

In the crisp light of the full moon Max could see the Steinlitz hotel clearly from the top of the Space Needle. She couldn't believe she was staring at it. She came up here for peace; not a reminder of her latest crisis. She didn't want to think about how close she had come to losing Logan, or how much that bothered her, or why it bothered her. So then, why was she staring at the Steinlitz?

If she wanted calm, why was she staring at the boarded up window they sailed through? Imagining Logan being thrown off a roof, dying because he was trying to do the right thing, to save her, was not enhancing her calm.

_What happened to 'like I even care'?_

_Logan. Logan happened._ _Damit._

She tried to remember that Logan was safe. They landed on the bed. _On a bed, entangled in Logan's arms. This is so NOT calming. Why am I even worried about Logan? He is fine. _

"He is fine," she repeated aloud, as if the affirmation would somehow make it true.

_Are you sure?_ A traitorous voice whispered from the back of her mind.

"Yes!" she declared to the empty night sky.

_How can you be sure? He's always getting into trouble. You should go check on him._

"He's fine. You just want to get back into his arms," she said, the clenched her eyes shut as if in pain as she realized that she was talking only to herself. "That's it. Logan has now officially driven me mad." She knew that he was driving her crazy; she just hadn't expected to get there so soon. Or something like that.

"Why do I even care?" she asked rhetorically.

_It's Logan._

Max tried valiantly to convince herself that worrying about Logan was pointless and unfounded.

_Worry accomplishes nothing. Go check on him._

"It's not like he's _…_" her voice trailed of as the words choked in her throat.

_The only person in the world you trust; the one that you can count on; the one that comforts and accepts you during on of your cursed seizures. Yes, he is. _

"There is no reason to think that he is not OK."

_There is no reason not to go check._

"It is irrational," she tried again.

She recalled all the overwhelming arguments that there is no such thing as ESP. All of which crumbled against the fact that she wasn't entirely human.

She tried to reason her traitorous desires out of caring about Logan; only to recall that you cannot reason someone out of what they were not reasoned into.

_OK, so we are unreasonable._

"Even if I did have some sort of danger sense, why would it be keyed into Logan?"

_Because he is the only confidant you have in the whole world. Without him you are all alone … again. You HAVE to go check._

Max was halfway down when she realized she was leaving. She justified it because the Space Needle wasn't the sanctuary it typically was. She'd just ride around the city, clear her head.

When she found herself in Sector Nine she convinced herself that it was just a coincidence.

Right up until the moment she is pulling into the parking garage under Fogle Towers she still could not believe that she was going to check on Logan.

She parked her bike in the spot he always left for her, in front of his car. She smiled at his consideration, in spite of her best efforts. One of the little ways he lets her know that she is always welcome. There is a sanctuary, if she needs it.

As she's walking out of the parking garage under Fogle Towers she has herself convinced that she is just going to check on him. See if he has any errands for her to run. See if he has any snacks in the fridge for her to eat. He is just fine, nothing bad has happened. They are just friends, nothing … else … is going to happen. It would be crazy to think otherwise.

_And I've already established I'm crazy._

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To be Continued ...


	2. A Dark Mount

Disclaimer: No infringement intended. Not affiliated in any way with anyone. Nothing to sue here people, move along. I don't own anything here. I am not making any money on this.

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Unwilling Suspension of Belief

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Scene 2: A Dark Mount.

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Max was everything that Logan had dreamed: soft, sweet, spicy, exotic, erotic, and warm. She went up in flames in his arms and took him with her, exactly as he knew she could.

_Beyond warm, she was totally hot!_

Her hands roamed his body as her lips ravished his mouth and the sheer force of her presence completely overwhelmed Logan, and every shred of common sense he had ever possessed.

She smelled of Joy, his favorite French perfume, an erotic jumble of jasmine, rose, and other rare oils. She tasted like fine Bordeaux and sweetness.

Logan's flesh burned where she touched as surely as if she had left a trail of fire down his arms. He broke into a sweat. He was burning up, despite of the fact that he was rapidly shedding clothing as they stumbled down the hall to his bedroom.

_Our bed. Our bedroom. _

Logan had every intention of claiming Max in every way imaginable. She was his. He had never wanted anything more. Once Logan Cale set his will to something, it was. He would make it happen. He would make her his.

_Mine. My soldier. My Chimera. My lover. My Max. Mine._

Max, thoughts of Max, and sensations from Max, completely overwhelmed him. Expensive things were knocked to the floor, but he didn't care. He couldn't care, not about anything except the woman writhing in his arms.

The cry she gave him as he nibbled on her neck was the most beautiful sound that he had ever heard. When at last, reluctantly they parted a few inches Max seized the opportunity to pull her soft red cashmere sweater over her head and cast it aside, like all their fears and inhibitions. The thin white camisole did nothing to conceal Max's charms, or her dark areola.

Logan moaned and moved to suckle Max's dark nipples through the thin silk. Max's dulcet cry of delight sent waves of satisfaction and wonder through Logan.

Max pulled Logan up to her for a fiery fierce kiss and then tossed him into the center of his bed.

It occurred to Logan, as he saw rather than felt Max removing his shoes and socks, that there were a few things they needed to talk about before this went any farther.

_That we should have talked about before we got anywhere near the bed, or naked. _

Summoning all his vast courage he told her, "Max, I have some things I need to tell you."

"I hate to break it to you but I've done this before. I know what I'm doing." She grinned up at him but didn't pause her ministrations.

"With someone with a SCI?" Logan asked incredulously.

"SCI?"

"Spinal cord injury." Cold dread began to inhibit the heat of his passion, but failed as quickly and as surely as a snowball in the fires of hell.

"Oh. No, but what does that matter? I'm strong enough for both of us. Want me to be on top?" She pulled off her top, baring herself to Logan's hungry gaze.

_When did her pants and shoes come off? _Logan was shocked speechless. She was as breathtakingly beautiful as he always imagined. She was everything he dreamed of, here, before him and his for the taking. Logan felt incredibly aroused even though he knew it should be impossible.

The tiny ribbons that fastened her cream colored panties swayed hypnotically, pulling Logan to them. One gentle tug, as automatic as breathing, and the silk slid down her perfect sleek legs, to lie in a heap on the floor with the rest of her clothing.

Logan's breath caught in his throat. A soft moan escaped even his iron control. She looked as stunning as he had always dreamed she would be. Max smiled down at him and allowed him to enjoy the view, which he did, with immense satisfaction.

"You like?" she asked playfully.

Breathless, speechless, Logan could only nod.

"Good," Max said and then descended upon him to capture his lips.

All rational thought fled Logan as Max shattered his calm with the hunger of her kisses. The caress of her lips on his mouth and along his strong jaw and down his neck set every nerve he had left aflame. She nipped at the pulsing hollow at the base of his throat, and then moved down. Logan felt a rush the likes of which he had not imagined he was still capable of when she swirled her tongue around his nipple.

All Logan could do was cry out in ecstasy.

Max was grinning hungrily at Logan as she pulled off his pants. As if a needle had just been pulled across a record, the rhythm that had intertwined them both screeched to a halt. She stopped, puzzled, and looked to Logan for some sort of explanation. He was flaccid.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

A painful knot rose in his throat. It was only his vast willpower that allowed him to push past it to choke out the confession of what he perceived to be his humiliation. "The bad of a blown out spinal cord, Max. It doesn't work anymore. Nothing below the injury line does."

"Nothing?" she asked in disbelief.

"Nothing."

"But … but, Logan, there are automatic … functions down there."

"Not so automatic anymore." A profound sense of inadequacy swept over Logan. The knowledge that he was about to drive Max away from him forever twisted and tore inside of him. Among other emotions that assailed him was a deep sense of shame as he began to explain the new realities of his life, what little was left to him. His anguish would have overwhelmed the control of a lesser man as he watched his beloved Max recoil in distaste.

"I'm sorry," she choked out as she grabbed her sweater to cover herself.

"I can still do things for you Max. I want to … " Logan Cale was once a proud man who had not begged since well before he started shaving, but that was when he was a whole man. "Please."

Max backed away with a look of horror on her face. Shaking her head, she slowly backed away from him.

"Max, don't leave me. Not like this."

"I'm sorry." Max grabbed her clothes and disappeared out the door, out of his apartment and, he was certain, out of his life forever.

"Max!"

_I can't believe she just left like that. I always knew she would, and now that it has actually happened I can't believe it? I'm more pathetic than even I imagined._

Logan was left alone, naked, helpless, and cold. He felt a deep, unaccustomed pain deep within his chest.

_So this is what it feels like when a heart breaks._

Logan wished that he could be surprised that he'd never felt his heart break when any of the other women in his life had discarded him.

_No one was ever close to Max. Nothing I felt for anyone before was this powerful._

Finally, exhausted and bereft, Logan began to sob.

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To Be Continued ….


	3. Awakening

**Disclaimer**: No infringement intended. Not affiliated in any way with anyone. Nothing to sue here people, move along. I don't own anything here. I am not making any money on this.

Huge THANK YOU to Maria for making time to Beta this no matter how hectic her RL gets.

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Scene 3: Awakening.

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When Max saw Jake behind the security desk she realized that it must be after midnight. _How have I become so familiar with this one place? Was this what it was like to have a home?_

The old security guard smiled at Max and unlocked the security doors for her. She didn't even have to state her business, like everyone else did after curfew. He nodded and said, "Hi Max."

_Just one more sign that I have stayed around for far too long_. "Hey, Jake! How's it goin'?" Max asked cheerfully, although she never broke her stride.

"Same-o, same-o. I'm still here." Jake gave her a little wink as she walked by.

Max knew exactly what he meant by that; not too good, but not too bad either. Jake had been a chef before the pulse. He had made good money at it, but there just weren't that many restaurants left; even fewer that actually required a gourmet chef. Logan had been able to hook him up with a couple of odd jobs helping out at special events, occasionally. In return Jake was able to acquire some hard to find ingredients for Logan; Max was reasonably certain he wasn't even marking them up. It was good to have connections.

Max was certain Jake thought that she was on a booty call from Logan. What else was anyone to think? Logan told them to admit her anytime, day or night. She was here at all hours. Sometimes she was delivering things, but most of the time that was small disks or files; nothing that anyone saw her with. If her cover were ever seriously blown being 'Max's sugar daddy' would not go over well for Logan. Lydecker wouldn't care how much Logan knew about her, the fact that he knew her at all would be enough to have him dragged in for an interrogation and his computer systems seized.

As soon as the elevator doors closed behind her she glanced at her pager. 12:34 a.m. blinked at her. Logan might still be awake, but probably not. She thought about leaving, but she couldn't think of any way to do so without arousing Jake's suspicions. She thought about jumping off the roof, but that hadn't been pleasant. She'd been lucky she hadn't twisted her ankle the first time, plus Jake would notice her bike was gone. Finally she decided that she would just get to Logan's apartment and go from there. Maybe he was up.

He wasn't.

She needed to stay awhile, to let Jake continue thinking that she was doing the innocuous thing he assumed that she was doing up in the penthouse with Logan. _Why am I thinking about getting busy with Logan? I'll just leave Logan a note. Let him know I dropped by. Maybe poke around in the fridge for a few then go back down. How long does it usually take? Hmm, good question. I don't think me in heat is a very representative sample, maybe I'll look it up on the internet._

After a few minutes research on Logan's computer Max decided to defend Logan's reputation by reading one of his books for a couple of hours. She picked up a copy of 'A Passion for Mathematics; Numbers, Puzzles, Madness, Religion, and the Quest for Reality' by Clifford A. Pickover from a dusty bookshelf.

_This might actually be interesting._

She hadn't gotten past the first chapter when she thought she heard Logan moan.

_Hmm, maybe picking a book with 'passion' in the name wasn't such a hot idea. Was it hot in here? NO! I can't be in heat, it's only been two months._

Max breathed slowly, deeply, and deliberately; she was not in heat. It was too soon. _Didn't one book say that if you don't spay your cat the heat cycles would become more frequent? Unless she …breeds. Oh, no._

Logan definitely moaned. Max snapped the book shut.

_He couldn't be doing what Jake thinks he's doing … with another woman? Why would I even care? Denial, Max, that is the key. Deny, Deny, Deny. You are not in heat and you don't care if he … Oh, no, I can't even finish the thought! This is not a good sign. You don't care. You are imagining the pain. Now get your ass out of here and back out into the cold where you can convince yourself of that._

Max had just stood up to leave when she heard a faint "Max". She blurred to Logan. He was alone. The room was dark, but she could see him perfectly. He was sweating and thrashing slightly. She could see the light dusting of hair on his bare chest. His face was the picture of abject misery.

_He's safe. He is just having a bad dream. Max to the rescue again. _Max smiled in spite of herself as she reached out to rouse him from his night mare.

"Logan," she whispered. "Logan," she repeated louder this time. She reached out to touch Logan's shoulder, intent on gently shaking him awake.

Logan awoke with a gasp at her touch. He would have bolted upright, if he could have. His head and shoulders lifted a bit off the bed. His arms immediately wrapped around Max and pulled her to him. He was holding her with all the upper body strength that seven months in a wheelchair had added. "Max," he choked out, the sound ripped from deep within his soul.

"Logan, it's all right. It was just a bad dream. You're safe now." Max tried to soothe, but she really didn't know how. Thinking straight became increasingly difficult as she felt Logan's warmth seep into her. She cared about Logan and wanted to help him. She really did, but right at this moment she was more afraid of her own needs. She was definitely warm. If Logan wasn't very, very careful he was going to need saving **from** her, instead of **by** her. _And he has no idea the danger that he is in, _Max thought miserably.

It took Logan's sleep clouded brain a few moments to process what was going on. Max was here, in his arms. She's wearing a long sleeve t-shirt, not a soft cashmere sweater.

"It's OK Logan. Being tossed off a building would give anyone nightmares." Max couldn't control herself. She wrapped her arms around Logan's sweat covered body, appreciating the feel of his slick skin under her fingertips.

Logan's breathing slowly calmed as he realized what had happened, or more precisely, what had not happened. _It was just a bad dream, a night mare. But, what is Max doing here? I don't care. As long as she is going to let me hold her, I will. _"Max." Logan's voice was husky, although whether it was from sleep or something else, Max could not say.

Max sat there touching Logan, holding Logan, smelling the enticing musk that was Logan. She was becoming more and more aroused until she couldn't deny she must be in heat. She could not have pulled away if she wanted to, and it had nothing to do with Logan's improved upper body strength.

_Maybe if I don't move for three days I won't attack him, _she thought

Max expected to be miserable. She was always miserable when she felt aroused, soon to be out of control. However, as she sat there in the dark, holding Logan to her, feeling his skin under her skin, she was not miserable. Not even close. She concentrated on her breathing and took stock of how she felt. She was definitely becoming aroused.

_Dam heat,_ she cursed.

Yet she still was not miserable. Her breathing was speeding up. Her sense of touch seemed to be more acute. She could feel the tightening of her breasts. She was aware of … moisture … but … she wasn't miserable. She wasn't desperate or out of control. If anything she felt … happy. She sighed and gave up trying to figure out this weird heat. She'd had too few chances in her life to be happy to waste even a second of this one.

_I wonder if he is wearing anything?_

Logan laid on his bed, clutching Max to him, enjoying having his face pillowed on her chest. He had never thought he would have this pleasure, and was certain he never would again. He tried to memorize every sensation. He was comforted by the fact that she smelled faintly of gasoline and something else he couldn't place that was probably cheap soap. He convinced himself that he must be imagining when he felt her nipples pucker under his chest. He just enjoyed as his breathing slowed.

_Which one of us is shaking? _

Neither ever wanted to move as they held each other, enjoying every second.

Eventually, Max laid Logan down on the bed.

"Thank you," Logan murmured sleepily.

"I thought you had fallen asleep." Max pulled back to take advantage of the fact that she could see in the dark, even if Logan couldn't.

_Was it wrong to look at him when he thought he was safely hidden in the darkness? Probably. So knock it off! No. _Max sighed. She was tired of arguing with herself.

Beside the infatuated couple the clock displayed 3am.

Logan smiled. "I think I did." He reached out to take Max's hand in his. He ran his fingers over hers in a gentle caress.

Max couldn't think with him doing that. She could feel herself becoming mass of excited nerve endings. Her already enhanced senses craved more of Logan's touch like nothing she'd ever wanted before. Totally against her better judgment, against her will her other hand slipped under the covers intent on a small recon mission to determine the presence or absence of pajamas, underwear, or any other scrap of clothing on Logan.

"Max?" Logan murmured softly to her.

Max's errant hand immediately retreated but she gave no other reaction simply because she couldn't think of one.

"Not that I am complaining, but why are you here in the middle of the night?" Logan asked, breaking the erotic direction of Max's thoughts.

"I …" Max struggled to come up with some way to explain to Logan what was going on without insulting or scaring him. This was made more difficult by the fact that she didn't really understand herself. She was saved by a bell, specifically the soft chime of the elevator. She heard it clearly when the elevator stopped at this floor and the doors opened. Regardless of whether the sound represented a mistake, Jake, or danger, it instantly had her full attention.

Logan could tell that she had heard something and so waited quietly.

When Max heard the front door open and the crisp snap of someone cracking open the box of the security system she knew they were in danger. "You expecting more company?" she asked as she pulled her jacket back on.

"No."

"You got it. Do you have a gun in here?"

"Yes. Top drawer."

Max retrieved the gun quickly and handed it to Logan.

"Wait here," she ordered him.

Logan noticed she retrieved the gun without having to search for it in the dark and reached the obvious conclusion. "You can see?"

"Yeah," she confirmed.

Logan grinned. "Good. Hand me the big remote that was by the gun."

Max complied immediately. A faint light under the door let her know that the intruders were coming closer.

"Get behind the bed. Shoot any of them that make it past me."

"Here." Logan pressed a button on his elaborate toy. All the power in the apartment immediately went off. "That should give you a little bit of an advantage."

Max grinned despite the danger of the situation. She could hear the intruders cursing yet another brownout. _I'll never again complain about men and their toys._

"Logan, you **are** awesome!" Max embraced Logan quickly and then pulled him to the floor on the other side of the bed, so that he has his bed as cover between him and the door. One quick glance as she was lowering him gently to the floor confirmed he's naked. "Thank you!" Max gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before she sped out the door. "More later. I've got some asses to kick."

A stunned Logan grabbed his cell phone to call security.

To be Continued …


	4. Kicking Ass

**Disclaimer**: No infringement intended. Not affiliated in any way with anyone. Nothing to sue here people, move along. I don't own anything here. I am not making any money on this.

Huge THANK YOU to Maria for making time to Beta this no matter how hectic her RL gets.

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Scene 4: Kicking Ass.

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Max felt a profound sense of loss as she left Logan's bed. Still, she needed to make sure he was safe before she could … _Don't even go there, Max. You aren't like that. He's said it. You've said it. What is it going to take before you can believe that? _

_If this is a typical heat .._

_And I've already established that it is not!_

… _then it should be about three days!_

_Business before pleasure. _

_MMmm, pleasure._

_Damit!_

Fortunately, Max can parallel process and multitask like there is no tomorrow, so while she was engaged in a heated debate with the most stubborn opponent she had ever faced, with the possible exception of Logan Cale, she was also sneaking up on the bad guys. As it was dark, and the idiots hadn't brought flashlights to a heist in Seattle, she had an extreme advantage, several actually.

"We are supposed to make this look like a robbery," said the first soon-to-be-unconscious goon.

"No, his death needs to look like an accident," said the second soon-to-be-unconscious goon.

THAT got Max's full attention. They were not here for commerce; they were here for murder! They **almost** received it.

To say Max was fiercely protective of Logan was an immense understatement. Her attack was violent, brutal, powerful and immediate. Her training kicked in. She circled to approach the trio of intruders from the rear, to take them down one at a time before any could raise an alarm.

Max was smaller than her prey, but she's also capable of absolutely incredible speeds. Still, if she had not been furious she would not have accelerated her foot at nearly two hundred miles per hour into the first goons abdomen. For those of you unfamiliar with physics – force equals mass times acceleration. At that speed she transferred slightly over four thousand Newtons of force into the goons soft internal organs; in other words she hit him like a ton of bricks (dropped from a second story window). The only sound he made as he dropped was a soft exhalation of all the air that had been in his lungs.

Max moved on to the second would-be-assassin completely unaware of the massive internal bleeding in the first. Criminal number two dropped his gun from his numb hand as Max twisted and shattered the two thin bones in his forearm, the same move inadvertently pulling his arm out of its socket. He sucked in sharply but passed out before he had time to scream. Max, unaware he was unconscious, kicked his knees sideways at a truly unnatural angle then back-fisted his face so that he fell backward unto the first would-be-assassin.

"Bob? Where are you?" The third would-be-assassin had time to be terrified. He had heard a soft whoosh and then the crunching of bone and then an eerie silence. He could see nothing in the dark. He could hear only the thunder of his own pulse in ears.

Max thought about letting him suffer, but the sooner he was unconscious the sooner she could search the apartment and make sure that there were no more of them.

The last man standing saw a pair of eyes glimmer in the darkness for one brief moment, before the darkness took him.

Three down in just slightly over three seconds.

_Cool, now back to Logan._ Max cursed her libido. She ignored it and finished searching the apartment. She spared seven seconds to make certain the three she knew about were securely tied and then went to brief Logan before she left for further reconnaissance.

When she returned to Logan's bedroom he was on his cell phone with someone.

She mouthed the word 'mute' at him and hoped he could read lips. She felt like an idiot and tried to turn on the light so that he could see her. Then she felt like a double idiot. "Three down. Apartment clear. I need to go check on … the security guard."

Logan smiled, pushed some buttons on his remote and the lights came back on.

Max mouthed 'mute' at him again.

"Uh-huh," Logan said into the phone then pressed the mute button.

"They were here to kill you."

"You sure?"

"I overheard one say 'his death needs to look like an accident'"

"Damn." Logan cursed and only then unmuted his phone. "Listen, I'm sorry about this but I need to go. I'll be fine, just get someone here as soon as you can. We might need an ambulance." Logan noticed the look on Max's face. "We definitely need an ambulance. Thank you. Goodbye." Logan snapped the phone shut, his pain apparent on his handsome face.

He clenched his eyes shut for only a second, exhaled and looked up at Max. "Any idea how much they know."

"No. I need to go downstairs and see how they got past Jake." Max approached Logan. She was eager to have her hands on his naked body again. "You need to get dressed. Do you need ?"

"No! I can do it," Logan snapped.

"I know, but if it would save time …" The mental image of helping Logan with his clothing was seriously interfering with Max's ability to think clearly, which was saying a lot.

"Just go."

Feeling very rebuked, Max nodded and left.

_She doesn't even think I can get dressed by myself?_ Logan thought bitterly. _On the bright side, I guess me being pathetic wouldn't surprise her._ _I guess that dream wasn't as realistic as I thought. _

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Max propped the elevator doors open at the penthouse level, effectively trapping it there and preventing anyone from using that means of egress to get past her to Logan. She hopped down the deserted stairs one flight at a time.

Jake was unconscious but breathing. Max checked him briefly, but an ambulance was already on the way. The monitors revealed one unfamiliar car waiting in the underground parking garage, with one unfamiliar goon sitting behind the wheel.

Max knew dozens of different ways she could disable him, but with Logan in the penthouse, alone and naked … _Logan, naked …_ she groaned. She **needed** to get back to Logan, so she immediately implemented the fastest method, regardless of how distasteful it was.

She pulled off her jacket and tee shirt leaving only a thin camisole (that inadvertently showed off pert nipples) between her and the cool night air. She adjusted her hair, applied some lipstick, stuck Jakes handcuffs in her jacket pocket, swung her jacket over one shoulder and sashayed out the door.

She walked slowly toward the exit, making certain that her target got a good look at her charms. She wanted to give him enough time to form the wrong, though popular, conclusion about what a girl like her would be doing in a place like this.

He obligingly whistled at her, giving her the perfect excuse to notice him. She smiled and turned gracefully to walk towards him. He even rolled down his window.

"Hey," she tried to sound as seductive as she could. "What's a nice guy like you doing in a place like this?"

Based on his leer she succeeded more than she wanted to. "Damn shame I'm working right now, Babydoll."

"Oh yeah. That is too bad." Max looked disappointed. She knocked him cold with a right cross before he realized that she had moved. Max dragged him out of the car and used Jake's handcuffs to secure him to a pillar.

She checked Jake on the way back. He probably had a concussion, but there wasn't anything she could do for him. He might be OK; he might not be OK, but there was nothing Max could do to affect that one way or the other.

She **needed** to get back to Logan. _I just need to make sure he is alright, s_he lied to herself.

To be continued ….


	5. Taking Names

**Disclaimer**: No infringement intended. Not affiliated in any way with anyone. Nothing to sue here people, move along. I don't own anything here. I am not making any money on this.

Huge THANK YOU to Maria for making time to Beta this no matter how hectic her RL gets.

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Scene 5 Taking Names.

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Max made it up twenty-seven flights of stairs in record time, but not quite fast enough for another glimpse of naked Logan. She barely caught a bit of his magnificent chest before he buttoned up his shirt. "Thanks Matt. I really appreciate you getting up to handle this."

_Bare feet. _Max picked up the thick wool socks setting on the bed and knelt at Logan's feet._ I wonder if he'll let me …_

Logan snatched the socks without pausing in his telephone conversation.

_That's a 'NO'. Darn it._

"Penthouse at Fogle Towers, in sector 9. It's my apartment." Logan gritted his teeth, more annoyed with himself than with Max.

Max moved his shoes from the closet floor to the bed beside him and then retreated quickly to a safe distance.

Logan, a.k.a. he-who-always-did-the-right-thing, was unused to feeling guilty, and he hated feeling so now_. Max just saved my life, she is trying to help me and I am taking my frustration out on her? _Unfortunately no amount of scolding himself on how he **should** feel would change how he **did** feel. If his emotions had been in less turmoil he would have realized that it was his own body, and its betrayal, that was the source of his frustration. Max was simply the only one there to take it out on.

"Considering three men just broke in to kill me, I don't think it matters anymore if you know where I live or not. How soon can you be here?" The phone fell from the nook between Logan's shoulder and ear as he attempted to pull a thick sock over an uncooperative foot. Faster than he could see, let alone react, Max caught the phone and held it back to ear.

"Great. Thanks. Bye." Logan nodded, but couldn't bear to the hurt look in Max's eyes. _I am such jerk._

Max set the phone down as soon as she heard Matt hang up.

"Logan?" she asked uncertainly.

"Max. I am sorry."

_Was he kidding? _"For what?"

_Is she kidding?_ Logan could only stare at the hesitant chimera before him. Finally he forced out, "Being … grumpy."

"No biggie. I'm not in the best mood myself." _That is one hell of an understatement! _"And I didn't even have someone just try to kill me in my own home."

"Thanks for saving my life, by the way." Logan tried to give her the best smile he could, considering his life was spiraling out of control and his prospects of even short term survival seemed somewhat bleak.

Max pretty much melted at his smile. She felt an unfamiliar but pleasant warmth that completely precluded one of her usual smart-ass remarks. "You're welcome."

Max had just started to lean towards Logan, when security called to ask about the elevator.

∞∞∞∞

The security team from the private security company employed by Fogle Towers arrived before the police. Jake had regained consciousness and one of them drove him to the local emergency room to be checked out. The man with the broken jaw remained handcuffed to the pillar until the ambulance arrived. The ambulance was about to leave when they got the message that there where three more bodies in the penthouse.

If the security team suspected something, which was probable, they didn't say anything.

Fortunately, the beat cops were there for all of five minutes before Matt Sung showed up and took charge of the situation. The beat cops had wanted pictures of the crime scene, an explanation as to how four large adult males were beaten into unconsciousness, awkward stuff like that.

Max had hidden Logan's video camera, but there was still an impressive array of computer equipment and monitors in Logan's office. Matt only arched one eyebrow slightly as a smile and a suspicion grew. Matt quickly got the beat cops out of the Penthouse. When he returned to speak with Logan his admiration for, and suspicions of, Logan had both grown considerably.

Matt glanced toward the bedroom where the small female he didn't know was packing Logan a bag. "So someone figured out you have something to do with Eyes Only?" Matt asked politely, avoiding any accusations.

"Yeah," Logan replied, his voice flat.

"Do you know who sent them?"

"No."

"What is the hot case right now?"

That threw Logan only momentarily. There were not any hot cases. True, he had several open investigations, but he wasn't dangerously close to anyone, or so he thought. Still, he couldn't admit to knowing too much. "I have no idea. I haven't been doing a lot of field work since …" Logan gestures helplessly to his legs.

"Someone must have been expecting something," Matt insisted.

"No. I wasn't." Logan's voice was so flat and subdued that Max was truly worried about him. She finished tossing the last of his necessities in the suitcase and joined them in the front room.

"Logan, I don't know who flattened these guys, but do you normally have that kind of muscle here? They weren't shot. They were beaten. No offense, but you didn't do that."

"No. That kind of muscle isn't normally here." Logan replied, inexplicably pained by that thought.

"Just stopped by to raid the fridge. Lucky timing," Max supplied. It wasn't true but Matt didn't need to know that.

_She was here to raid the fridge? I wonder how often she does that and I don't even wake up. No, that can't be right. There isn't that much food missing. That was for Matt's benefit. Why was she here? _Logan looked at Max, wishing he could read her mind, or at least her body language.

"Uh-huh," replied Matt, eyeing Max suspiciously.

"It's alright. She knows," Logan supplied quickly, completely misreading what Matt was suspecting.

"What do you know so far?" Max asked.

Matt let out a deep breath and looked over his notes. "Not much. Their ID has them as Bob Hendricks, Robert Nikitin, Peter Petrov, and Rob Andreev."

"They carried ID's?" Max asked incredulously.

"Yeah. That a sign of an amateur?" Matt was warily studying this mysterious female.

"Definitely. Three of the last names are Russian. This might have something to do with Odessa Social Club but …" Max pauses thoughtfully and turns to Logan. "You haven't had anything to do with that investigation, have you?"

"No," Logan replies automatically. If he had more sleep he might object to Max deliberately transferring suspicion from him to her, but what she was doing would only occur to him later.

Matt obligingly digested the tidbit of information that Max was even higher in the Eyes Only network than Logan, which was precisely what Max wanted. If Matt wasn't loyal, or more likely, ever captured and interrogated, she would far rather have bad guys try to come after her than Logan. She resisted the urge to smile at how surprised they would be if they did.

"It's run by a bunch of Russian gangsters. We aren't sure how crooked the games themselves are, but if you win too much they don't let you walk out without a fight. Seeing as the whole operation is illegal, we'll probably just be able to tip off the police and not need to bother with a hack. But how would they have known about Logan?" Max said.

"I don't know. It is possible they don't know that much and are just going after everyone they suspect might be involved at all," Matt theorized.

Logan looked a little pale. "I should send out a warning."

"We should also get you somewhere else," Max insisted.

"I'll see what I can find out from these four when they wake up. Maybe if I can find out who is paying them …"

"Excellent. Thank you. My name is Max." Max offered Matt a genuine smile and a handshake.

"Pleased to meet you." Matt was always pleased to meet anyone else in the Informant Net; pleased to know that others thought that fighting for this cause was worthwhile. "So, you ever meet him?" Curiosity got the better of Matt.

Max did not allow the opportunity to confirm that she was a more appropriate target than Logan slip by. "Yeah."

Logan is too tired to even think about concealing his surprise, which works nicely. Matt assumes he is surprised by the fact that Max has meet Eyes Only, not by the fact that she is admitting it. "What is he like?"

Max smiles thoughtfully for a moment, dozens of different ways to tease Logan racing through her mind, followed by dozens of different ways to please Logan and the realization she needed to get out of here. "Amazing. The man has the most incredible … knack for convincing you to do things contrary to your self preservation I have ever even heard of."

Matt stares at Max for a moment.

A very unnerved and overtired Logan blurted, "Max does a lot of the … errands." Immediately after which an unnerved, overtired and embarrassed Logan tried to figure out why he said that.

"Like you didn't nearly die," Max shoot back at him.

"Okay," Matt retreated. It didn't take a detective to pick up the current between these two. "I'll let you know as soon as I can find out anything. I would offer to place you in protective custody, but…"

"I can do that better than you can, Matt. But thank you for the offer." Logan replied.

"You're packed and ready to go." Max held up a suitcase and a duffel bag.

"Thanks." Logan nodded and headed for the elevator.

If Max needed confirmation that Logan wasn't doing well, the fact that he didn't even check what she packed was it. She had expected a rather embarrassing conversation about his supplies. _Maybe he has a set at the safe house._

∞∞∞∞

If Logan even noticed that Max left her beloved motorcycle behind without a murmur, he didn't comment on it. They drove to the safe house in a safe comfortable silence. Logan was too absorbed in the fact that someone knows who he really is and is trying to kill him to talk to Max. Max was too absorbed in the sight, smell, sound, and memory of the feel of Logan to talk to him. If she concentrated she thought she could hear him breathing through the sound of the car. It wasn't until they reach the safe house that Logan was broken from his contemplation and seems to realize that Max was with him.

"Max?" Logan pulled the car into the garage and turned it off.

They sat together in the dark, neither exiting the car. "Yeah."

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm helping you." Max paused, uncertain. "If that's ok."

"Of course. I'm grateful. I'm just …"

"Let me guess. You worked yourself to the point of exhaustion, as usual, then collapsed into bed, two stages past exhausted by the time you actually hit the pillow, only to have a nightmare, which isn't restful by the way, then be woken up by me less than, oh an hour? After you had finally given up and gone to bed in the first place?"

"Yeah, pretty much." _No point in going in to how disturbing the nightmare was. _"That and someone knows who I am."

"Maybe. Matt had a good point. Those were cheap thugs. No where near up to the job. Maybe they don't know you're Eyes Only. Maybe they just suspect you're an informant?"

"Three thugs would have been more than sufficient to kill me in my sleep, Max."

Pain shot through Max. The darkness hid Max's pained expression from Logan. He continued on unknowingly. "It was you who saved me … again. Even if they are just targeting informants I need to send out an e-mail to all the other informants letting them know there may be an assassination attempt."

"Anyone in the informant net should be taking precautions. But it wouldn't hurt to mention that there was an attempt on one of your people tonight. We have your laptop. The safe house wired?"

"Yes. It's not as secure as I would like, but I can relay the message through … Sebastian."

"So let's do this." Max got out of the car and circled over to Logan's side when he made no move to exit.

_Maybe I can get my arms around him again._ The darkness did nothing to hide the exhaustion on Logan's handsome features from Max. She opened his car door. "Logan?" she murmured softly when he didn't respond to her presence.

Logan looked up to notice her eyes reflecting what little light there was, like a cats. As tired as he was, he offered her a smile. "You know, you really do have the most incredible eyes. Has anyone ever told you they shine in the dark?"

"Yeah, and that isn't normal. Once. I ran. Left the state. I was afraid that they would call Manticore or something. They may have, but I was long gone. However, with you, I think I'll stick around." Max tries to soothe, as if he wasn't stirring up some of her most painful memories. She slowly reached behind him and took out his wheelchair, unfolded it and set it on the ground beside the car. Then slowly, as if not to spook an untamed beast, she reached across Logan and unbuckled his seatbelt.

"I can do it," Logan whispered as she returned the seatbelt to its unlocked position.

"I know," she whispered back as she pressed her body against his and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm strong too." Slowly, so she could savor every moment, she gently picked him up and put him in the chair. "Let's get you settled. Then I'll come back for the luggage."

Logan nodded and proceeded toward the inside of the house, only to be stopped a few feet away by a locked door and a step. Logan fished the key out of his pocket and handed it to Max. Max took the key, eyed the width of the door and the width of Logan's unfolded wheelchair and took charge as befitting an officer and an X5.

She opened the door, listened, handed Logan back his key and told him "Wait right there. I'll be right back." A very quick reconnaissance revealed another step and a narrow passageway through a kitchen that did not look like it was set up for Logan. _This is bad. If we have to subsist on my cooking, this could get ugly fast. There has to be takeout around here somewhere. Right?_ There was also a large front room with a comfy sofa. Max verified that all the blinds and curtains were secure and went back for Logan.

"Is everything alright?" Logan asked. As intended, Max's hasty departure had him a little spooked.

"Yeah. Just a little narrow." Max looked at Logan, concerned.

Logan let out a deep sigh of resignation. "Yeah, I knew that." He set the brakes on his chair and began to lever himself onto the ground, when suddenly he found himself in Max's arms. "What?" he asked, a bit alarmed.

"What?" Max shot back.

"Max, put me down."

She obliged him by setting him down on the sofa, then blurred away. Logan was left sitting there, adjusting to the fact that Max was a lot faster than he had thought she was, when she came back with his wheelchair. She put it beside him and left again, only to return a moment later with the suitcase and duffel bag she had packed for him.

"You should probably call Bling and let him know where you are at."

"I will." Logan glanced at his watch. "I don't think he is awake this early."

"'K. You hungry?"

"No. You?"

"Not really," Max lied hoping that Logan couldn't tell what she hungered for, or rather whom. She fidgeted under his direct gaze.

"Max, why were you at my penthouse?"

Max thought of some way to answer him. She ruled out 'I'm in heat as would have attacked you myself if we hadn't been interrupted', 'I couldn't get you off my mind' and 'I wanted to jump your bones'. Finally, she blurted, "I'm a freak!"

Logan finally noticed her slightly flushed features and a fine sheen of sweat. "Are you having another seizure?"

"No."

"But it is something related to your DNA?"

Max nodded miserably.

"What can I do? What do you need?"

Max covered her groan with a laugh. "It'll pass. In a couple of days. I'm just going to be miserable until then."

Logan assumed that Max had come to his apartment for a safe haven while this, whatever it was, passed. "Max, I'm so sorry." He reached out to place his hand on her forehead. "Do you need some Tryptophan? I have some in my car."

Max smiled at his consideration. "No. It'll pass."

"Maybe it will help."

Max had to bite her lip to keep from telling him that wasn't what she needed right now. She gently shook her head and confessed. "No, it's not a brain chemical problem. It's more of a … female thing." She couldn't look him in the eye when she said that.

"PMS?" Logan asked. He'd been around PMS before, usually it made those in the vicinity more miserable than the actual sufferer.

"I wish."

"Revved up PMS?" Logan guessed.

"Close enough, I guess. What really sucks is it is way early."

"Well, you know what they say, better early than late."

"That does NOT apply to this."

"Why not?"

"Late means it happens less often. Why would it?"

Logan was immediately sorry he opened this line of conversation but too tired to dodge effectively. "Early means you're not pregnant."

"Admittedly I don't know lots about my DNA, but I am fairly certain even I would need to have sex before I could get pregnant and, unless you are volunteering, that is in the 'not possible' category." Max's embarrassment for dragging him into her sex life, or more precisely, the void where her sex life could be, caused the last of that sentence to come out a bit more sharply than she had intended.

_How did I get dragged into her sex life? How do I get dragged into her sex life? How do I get into her sex life? How do I get myself into these conversations? Why have I not passed out? _Logan sat there, stunned, for a few moments.

Max recovered first. "I'm sorry. I know I am not pleasant company right now. I should just avoid all human contact for the next three days, but …"

"Max, it's OK. I am glad you are here. You keep saving my life and you can snap at me all you like. Besides I think I know what you need." Logan grinned.

_I really hope not._ Max summoned all her self-discipline to keep from groaning. "What?"

"Chocolate," Logan drawled the word slowly, as if it had melted on his tongue.

_Not unless you're coated in it. _Max just smiled at him.

Logan pulled his bag off the back of his wheelchair. "I think I have chocolate covered nuts."

Max thought she covered her low moan with an "MMMmmm" quickly enough so that Logan wouldn't notice, but he glanced at her funny. She tried to cover. "You sure know how to pamper a girl."

Logan handed Max a package of dark chocolate covered walnuts.

"Thank you," Max almost purred at him. "I think that these will be my favorites from now on." She unwrapped the confection and savored the rare gift from the even more extraordinary Logan Cale. The only man who knew, accepted, and cared for her.

_WOW! Talk about your mood swings. I guess everything about Max is extraordinary. _After a few moments of staring longingly at Max savoring her treat, Logan transferred to his wheelchair and went to work.

He sent off an e-mail to Sebastian, and was not surprised when he received an immediate response. The informant net was informed that one of their own had been attacked. Logan could only hope that he was the assassins' first stop and that everyone would all check in over the next day or so. That done, he set to more personal matters. He was looking through some of the alternate identities he had set up, albeit not anticipating that he would need them himself, when Max startled him.

"Whedon is a good last name," Max said mere inches from his ear.

Logan jumped.

"Sorry."

"It's OK. Michael Whedon is only 27 years old."

"You could pass for 27." Max shrugged.

"Michael Whedon is married."

"I know. You have papers for his wife right there. I can get us a set of rings in a few hours. "

_US! _Logan was stunned. He just stared at Max while she slowly realized what she said.

Max squirmed under his direct gaze. She tried to rationalize her way out of the awkward position she put them both in. "If we are going to be traveling together that is the best cover. You want to attract as little attention as possible. Married is boring, no one should pay much attention, which is exactly what we want."

" … we …?" was all Logan could manage.

"Sure. Being on the lam can be a lot of fun. Great way to visit exotic places, meet new people."

Max found Logan's silence vaguely disturbing. She hesitated, then rushed forward. _Where angels fear to tread? Fear doesn't mean you have to surrender to it. Say something. _"If it is still open, I would rather we were married before you were injured."

Logan said nothing. Max felt the need to explain. "I'd just rather be the loyal wife that stands by her man than the gold digger or trophy wife that you bought. Not that you have to. I don't know why people think that … but … it's gotten a little old."

Logan merely stared, tongue-tied. He was almost but not quite able to wrap his head around Max standing there talking about being his wife.

There was a long uncomfortable silence, until Max couldn't stand it. "What?"

"You would come with me."

"Of course."

"Why?"

"Why not? I've never stayed in one place too long. Lydecker may be sticking around Seattle. He has had three separate sightings of me here months apart. He probably thinks I've settled down, which makes Seattle too hot. I should leave."

"Why have you stayed so long?"

Max paused, trying to find someway to convey her feelings, without looking like a fool, or worse scaring Logan.

"Max?" Logan prompted when she didn't reply immediately.

"I … kinda liked having someone I could talk to. I hadn't trusted anyone in 10 years."

_For me. She stayed for me and she's willing to leave with me. It is a dream come true; or set up for a nightmare to come true. Still, I couldn't ask for a better partner to run with._

"Still, being on the lamb isn't so bad." Max paused when she gets no response from Logan, who was too wrapped up in his own tumultuous thoughts. "You are planning on leaving Seattle. Aren't you?"

Max received no reply. Logan couldn't think of anything adequate to say to her.

"They probably know your name."

"I know."

"Tell me you had a plan for this contingency."

"I didn't really think I would survive if …" Logan paused, pained. "I wouldn't have. If not for you."

"And I'm going to keep making sure you survive."

Logan looks in such pain. Remorse and guilt, for all that he hadn't done, but should have and all that he had done, but should not have, tore deeply into this noble man that was far too exhausted to deal with any of this properly.

Max risks getting closer. She kneels at Logan's feet. "Logan, you're … awesome." She takes his hand in hers and offers him a tentative smile. "This will be all right. We'll be all right."

"I don't want to be a burden."

"Never! You could never be a burden. Not to me." Max squeezes his hand in hers, willing him to understand; willing him to hold on.

"Max. I can't even walk, let alone run." Logan was closer to despair than Max was comfortable with.

Max searched for some way to explain. Finally, Logan's own words inspired her. She inched closer to him. So that he could hear her better, she lied to herself. "I don't want to be alone."

"Max." Logan reached out to her like a lifeline. He ran one hand through her soft, unruly curls. "Max," he murmured softly as he pulled her once more into his embrace. "I won't leave you alone," Logan whispered. "Bed," he muttered.

Max was shocked, but she wasn't about to argue. She stood up and followed him wordlessly as he pushed himself into the bedroom.

"I'm sorry to dump all this on you right now, Max. I am beyond exhausted. I shouldn't be vertical, let alone talking. And from the sound of it you may not be in any state of mind to be making decisions either." _Yeah, that was it. Her revved up PMS makes her want to be with a male. Riiiight. _Logan let out a deep sigh as he pulled down the covers. "We'll talk after I've had some sleep. Will you call Bling after 7 am and let him know what happened and where I am?"

Max was grateful Logan couldn't see the crushed expression that she was certain was on her face. Still, she could carry on.

"Yeah, no problem. You get some sleep. I'll stand guard and finish off your chocolate." Max managed to smile when Logan turned to look up at her.

"You are more than welcome to anything of mine, Max."

Max fought against images of what she would do with his lips, his mouth, his neck, his nipples, his sweat covered …_moan! _"Be careful. I might hold you to that." Max knelt at his feet. She hoped that looking down at his shoes would obscure the longing she was afraid was written all over her face.

"Anytime."

Max removed his shoes and socks, and then moved his uncooperative legs into position on the bed. "You should get some sleep. Want anything else off?" She wished that didn't sound too hopeful as she pulled the blanket up around him.

"Nah, Thank you Max. For everything." Logan cherished the tender care she was giving him; whatever her reasons for doing so. "Goodnight."

Max remained kneeling by the bed until she was certain that he was sleep. "Goodnight, my …" _My what? My love? My hero? If agrees to the Whedon ID my husband! Yes, please. It's against all my training; so hopefully it is the right thing to do. Max, your life … is … really looking up. _Max smiled, more content than she felt she had any right to be, with as much danger as the source of all her newfound happiness was in.She leaned over, slowly, gently, sensuously, and gave Logan the tender kiss she had been longing to for hours.

_Your WHAT? _Logan laid there, wondering if he was ever going to be able to get to sleep, wishing he had the courage or the energy or the functioning lower half, to pull her down to him for a more scorching kiss and more than kisses.

Eventually Max left to make her phone call in the other room and Logan succumbed to sleep.

∞∞∞∞

Max was not about to leave until Bling showed up to stand guard. She was about to leave when Logan's phone rang. Max pounced on it before it finished the first ring.

"Go," she said into the phone.

"Is this … Max?" ventured the voice on the other end that she recognized as Matt Sung.

"Yeah. What have you found out from the perps?"

"Nothing from them directly. None of them have woken up yet."

Max smiled in spite of herself. "They all survived," she complained.

"One, just barely. But, that's beside the point. Is Logan there?"

"He just now fell asleep. I'm not waking him up for anything less urgent than a volcano."

That didn't really surprise Matt, but he supposed he could trust Max. "I found their itinerary in the car."

Max cursed herself for not thinking to look there.

"Good job! Was Logan the first stop?" If he wasn't she didn't want to be the one to break it to him, but she knew she would be.

"Yeah, but there were two others. Ironically, Logan is listed as easiest mark."

Max let out a deep sigh of relief. "Glad they were idiots. We already sent out a general warning. Logan already got a response from …" Max paused, unwilling to say much over an unsecured line. "the Man himself. Everyone should be alerted by now. Who were the other targets? I'll send a more specific warning."

"That is just it. The other targets were Bennett Cale and John Cale."

"What?"

To be Continued ….


	6. Beliefs

**Disclaimer**: No infringement intended. Not affiliated in any way with anyone. Nothing to sue here people, move along. I don't own anything here. I am not making any money on this.

Huge THANK YOU to Maria for making time to Beta this no matter how hectic her RL gets.

∞∞∞∞

Scene 6: Beliefs.

∞∞∞∞

"The other two marks were Bennett and John Cale. I don't think that this had anything to do with Logan's … activities. I think it has to do with his family," Matt stated.

"Yeah. That sounds logical," Max replied automatically. As soon as her momentary shock wore off, she resumed command of the situation. "Matt, I'm still going after these guys. It doesn't matter why they were after Logan. I and ... everyone owes Logan too much. For that matter we need Logan too much to not to deal with this situation aggressively. Agreed?"

"Agreed. What can I do to help?" Matt asked.

"Stay in touch. I'll keep you informed on what I find out. Let me know if you get any clues from the perps."

"Will do."

"Roger. Stat. Out." Max barked off quickly, leaving Matt to wonder which branch of the military she was from.

She snapped Logan's phone shut. "Bling, how much do you know about Logan's family?"

∞∞∞∞

Bling didn't know anything about Logan's family, but he did know about the Informant Net. Everyone was eager to help one of their own, regardless of why help was needed. Max hadn't felt such a sense of camaraderie since she left Manticore. Against her better judgment, she found herself liking these people and enjoying working with them.

∞∞∞∞

Bling's first phone call was to David MacCullum; a retired lawyer that used to work in the District Attorney's office. He was aware that Logan's wealth financed most of the cost of running Eyes Only.

"Hey David," Bling began.

"Bling?" David asked.

"Yeah, can you talk?" Bling asked.

"Yes. Are you alright?" David had been concerned since he got the e-mail warning him to watch his back.

"Yeah. It was Logan they were after. He's fine, but he didn't get much sleep last night. He's safe now. It doesn't look like it had anything to do with us. They had two other Cales on their list."

"Which two?" David asked.

"Bennett and John," Bling answered.

"Hmm. Has anyone checked on the others? Do you know if they were targeted by a separate team or not at all?"

Max heard everything, but she didn't know anything about Logan's family either. She shook her head at Bling to indicate 'no'.

Bling took the fact that she could hear both sides of this conversation in stride. "I don't know any others. How many Cales are there?"

"Hundreds, but only a few are closely related to Logan. Bennett and John are his cousins; they have two other brothers, Adam and Joseph. I'll check on them. You don't think they would be behind this, do you?"

_If that is his first guess on who is trying to kill Logan, maybe I should reconsider if I even want 'family'._ Max's horror was plain on her face.

Bling continued on stoically. "Don't know. Who would benefit from their deaths?"he asked. _What kind of family does Logan have that they are the prime suspects to want him dead? No wonder he never talks about them. _

"Unfortunately that information would be in probate, which is locked up at City Hall. Logan could probably afford to bribe someone with that information, but it will be another couple of hours before anyone is even there."

Max grinned and bolted. Bling looked up just in time to see the door shut behind her.

David was absolutely astounded when a small courier delivered the information to him just a little over an hour later. Max would have had it done sooner but she needed to take Logan's car back to get her motorcycle.

∞∞∞∞

David was already on the phone with Bling by the time Max got back to the safe house.

Logan's grandfather's will made it all too clear who would benefit if Logan died. Neither Max nor Bling even suggested waking Logan up to tell him. It wasn't said out loud, but the both understood that they were trying to find some evidence that it wasn't so before Logan woke up.

∞∞∞∞

Kyle Conner volunteered to try and sneak into Cale Industries to plant his toys that would, hopefully, relieve their suspicions, or more likely confirm them. Bling actually chuckled at his offer, and then told Kyle to just get the devices ready; a specialist was on the way.

Max wondered briefly if anyone really considered the security at Cale Industries to be adequate. It was nothing compared to what she was used to. She got in, installed Kyle's toys, and got out again without leaving a single trace; all before Jonas even strolled in after 9 am.

She would never, ever, complain about men and their toys.

∞∞∞∞

Kyle was happier than a kid in a candy shop, despite the grim circumstances. Everything was working perfectly. They had successfully tapped into Cale Industries own internal security system, as well as planted six additional microphones that communicated independently to the router hidden in the ventilation shaft that relayed all this information to Kyle over the cell phone network. It was working perfectly. They would never detect it because it wasn't generating traffic either in to or out of their network.

Kyle finished going over the security records for any trace of the person that planted these devices; there was no such trace. He couldn't believe it was the small female that picked them up. _Well, not unless she's a were-cat or something._

Max arrives back at Kyle's apartment just as Adam Cale entered the office of his father, Jonas Cale.

"Just in time for the show," Kyle quipped as his fingers flew over the keyboard.

∞∞∞∞

"Good morning, son. I'm glad you're well. I've received the most disturbing reports about your brothers." Jonas smiled and gestured for his secretary to leave the room.

The instant the door shut Adam said, "And I thought you might be upset."

Jonas walked around his desk to slap Adam across the face. "You are damn right I am upset! What the hell were you thinking?"

Adam clenched his teeth and faced his father's anger with his own. "That they were useless! Bennett was a damn bleeding heart and he's dating that …that ..."

Jonas interrupted as Adam was searching for an appropriate insult. "Is. Bennett is fine."

"What?"

"They are all fine. The security at Logan's apartment complex managed to capture your cheap thugs. Damn, Adam, how could you have been so stupid? I assumed that it was either you or Joseph that hired them. From your comments it was you. You think they won't tell the police that?"

∞∞∞∞

Max shook her head at their sheer stupidity. They hadn't even turned off their own security camera. At least they thought it was security that took down the assassins.

Kyle felt for Logan. They had known each other and worked together for years. He knew Logan wasn't particularly close to his family, but this? He hoped his friend would be alright. He knew Logan was strong. Just look at what he had been through in the past year. Still, every man had his limits. He shook his head in sadness, but recorded everything, one copy for his hard drive and one on a flash drive for Matt Sung.

∞∞∞∞

"I didn't use my real name. I paid them the deposit in cash," Adam stammered.

"Can they identify what you look like?" Jonas demanded.

Adam's silence was all the confirmation he needed. "How did I sire such a fool? I'm tempted to order blood tests!"

"I thought the risk of them being able to identify me would be less than bringing in another person."

"Fool. You think I don't have people that I can trust?"

"I didn't think you would have wanted anything to do with this."

"You should have come to me. This was pointless and foolish. How dare you even consider harming your brothers? Have you no loyalty? No allegiance? No damn sense?"

"If Logan isn't dead before next year he is going to get half of everything! Just because he is the only surviving child of his father! He doesn't do anything for the company! He never has! He doesn't deserve anything! Not even what he is getting now!"

Jonas let Adam rant. "Through?"

"Yes," Adam forced out through gritted teeth.

"Logan does deserve what he is getting now. He's a Cale, and the amount that he is getting is a pittance compared to what is at stake. Logan doesn't even know about the will, and he never had to. You said it yourself; he never has anything to do with the corporation or the trust fund. He trusts **me** to handle all of that, you fool. It is the investigation that your ridiculous attempted murder is going to trigger that might bring the will out into the open."

"The administrator of the estate would have informed him." Adam tried to defend his actions.

"No, actually, I wouldn't have." Jonas glared at Adam until it sunk in.

Adam looked appropriately contrite. "Oh. So now what?"

"I'll see if I can shut down the investigation. If Logan finds out about the will then we **will have to kill him** or go broke just trying to cover up this little fiasco of yours. From now on - you come through me, and if you ever try to harm any of your brothers again I will punish you."

Adam stared at him defiantly.

"Remember, I do have people I can trust. It's amazing what you can survive."

∞∞∞∞

"Not if you cross me you … you … traitors!" Max mumbled under her breath.

Kyle was not aware that he was mere inches away from a furious genetically enhanced killing machine, but some inner intuition let him know that he should be afraid, very afraid. He quickly put the video and audio on the drive and handed it to Max. "That's everything we have so far, including a copy of the will that David e-mailed me. If anything else comes up I'll page you. I'm going to keep monitoring for a while."

Max took the disk. "Thank you." She felt she should say more to this man that was helping her save Logan, but she didn't have words to express her gratitude. She had no practice with this. She'd never really had much reason to be grateful to anyone before; words failed her.

"You should take that to Matt." Kyle smiled, exceptionally grateful that she was on their side. He hoped.

∞∞∞∞

Once she reached the police station Max was politely directed to Detective Matt Sung. Being a courier was endlessly useful. She followed the directions automatically.

She was contemplating the logistics and morality of killing Jonas and Adam and framing another rag-tag group of thugs for it so that Logan never had to find out about their betrayal, when she turned a corner and there was Logan.

∞∞∞∞

… to be continued.


	7. Old Busted, New Breaking

Author's Note: insert standard disclaimer, Thanks Maria, and sorry about the quotes from the tape. They worked very well in the text when I could simply tab them it, but fanfiction dot net will not let me do that. So I did my best. It is a little awkward, but hopefully it is clear. I centered that text, and delimited them. Best I could do. When I am done with this story I will send a Word file with everything, including nice smooth tabbed quotes to anyone who asks.

∞∞∞∞

Scene 7 Old Busted, New Breaking.

∞∞∞∞

Max unknowingly turned the corner around a cubical wall to deliver the flash drive, only to find Logan Cale.

"Logan!" Max blurted.

"Hey Max," Logan tried to smile for her, but it didn't reach his eyes.

Max wanted nothing more than to soothe the pain that seemed to have etched interminable lines in his forehead; or better still, kiss it and make it all better. If only he would allow her. "What are you doing out of bed?"

"Emergency. Someone tried to kill me. Actually someone hired someone to try and kill me; and a lot of people seem intent on helping cover it up." Logan glared at her almost accusingly.

Max presumed that no one had the heart to tell Logan what was going on. She shook her head slowly in denial. The hurt at the implication that she might work against him was evident on her face. She wished she could think of something smart-ass to say, but her cursed heat cycles always interfered with proper thinking. _Probably by design, if I could think, I wouldn't …_ she broke off that painful line of thought, only to jump to one just as depressing. _How could I have forgotten I was in heat? Must be just starting? Could it have been a false heat? I've heard of false pregnancies. _

Logan held out his hand.

Max understood the unspoken command, and handed him the flash drive.

"Thank you," Logan said flatly. He turned and left Max standing there trying to think of any way to spare him more pain, but nothing came, not even to her genetically enhanced mind.

She tucked her ID badge inside of her shirt and her hat in her courier pouch. Matt Sung's desk was clearly labeled. She took a seat in the chair she concluded was for witnesses and waited for Logan. _Everyone else assumes I'm Logan's …girlfriend? toy? pet?_ … _or worse? Why does that even bother me? 'Cause you wish you were, but you aren't? No! That's just heat. It's not real. Are you sure? …. No._

Max let out a deep sigh and focused her concentration on making out the conversation in the Chief's office over all the rest of the background noise. She looked harmless and unhappy enough to be a victim, and nobody there really wanted to deal with her.

∞∞∞∞

"Boss, this is Logan Cale. He is a … friend of mine," Matt Sung introduced Logan to his boss.

_Pause then friend, that usually means source. Wonder what a rich boy like him could be into? _Clemente was too experienced a detective to let any of his suspicions show, and Logan was too exhausted to infer them.

"Pleased to meet you," Clemente said as he held out his hand.

Logan took the offered hand.

"Logan, this is Detective Clemente. He's in charge of this sector and is going to be in charge of this investigation."

"Then why don't we watch this." Logan held up the small flash drive. "It was just delivered and I have every reason to believe it is very informative."

Detective Clemente smiled, nodded, and accepted the drive. He loved it when things fell neatly into place. Most crimes that were ever solved these days were solved within 24 hours. He only had a few detectives that actually could crack an older case and Matt Sung was one of them. This one was looking very good.

∞∞∞∞

Max was so intent on listening, inadvertently appearing so distraught that no one wanted to deal with her, that she did not see the couple approach the chief's office. She was not aware of them at all, until they knocked on the door.

Max winced at the sound, loudly obscuring what she was straining to decipher. The wince convinced the sympathetic young intern that it would be better to wait until Detective Sung got out of his meeting with the chief before approaching the distressed young woman.

∞∞∞∞

Clemente was almost ready to view the video file that Kyle had subtly named 'WatchMeFirst.mov' when there was a knock on the door. He gestured to Matt to open it. He did, and Logan got quite a surprise.

"Bennett?" he asked. He would later blame it on his exhaustion. He may not like his family, but he wasn't so estranged that he didn't even recognize them.

"Hello Logan. Are you alright?" Bennett asked.

"Yeah, I'm OK. Didn't get much sleep last night, but other than that, I'm fine." _Last three nights actually but don't want to explain that._

"I just finished checking on the other local Cales. They are fine, but I alerted them to possible danger. Do we have any clues at all as to who may have been behind this? Do we know if they …" The woman beside Bennett was clearly upset. Talking rapidly until Clemente interrupted her.

"Music, have a seat," he told her.

It was Matt that took the initiative to introduce her. "Logan, this is Marianne Music. She is a detective here at the precinct, fourth generation in the force. Marianne, this is Logan Cale." Matt wisely decided not to tell either of the two newcomers anything more about Logan.

"Pleased to meet you." Logan nodded politely. It seemed like the least he could do, and the most he was up to right now. "Bennett, what are you doing here?"

"I think I'm in protective custody." He stammered. Marianne gently guided him to a chair and Logan noticed a very nice, very sparkly ring on the third finger of her left hand.

"You're not in protective custody … yet, but that's not a bad idea. At least until we find out who was behind the attempt." Marianne assured him in a soothing voice. She smiled tenderly at Bennett then straightened and got back to work. "Why aren't any of the suspects here? Have they been questioned? Why have" The fact that she was asking questions more rapidly than anyone could possibly have answered them clued even a weary Logan into the fact that she was emotionally and personally involved in this situation. Well, that and the ring.

"Music!" Clemente interrupted her tirade. "The suspects are at the hospital. One is going to be released today and escorted directly here. One is still in surgery and may not make it. The other two are going to be moved to the prison ward of Harbor Lights when they are stable."

That bit of information gave Marianne pause. "What happened?"

"Well, the story I have so far," Clemente picked up a paper from his desk and made a show of reading it for effect before he continued dryly, "is that the three suspects that entered the penthouse shortly after 3 am. They became disoriented during a brief brownout that affected no other apartments, tripped and suffered, respectively; a concussion, dislocated shoulder, and a broken nose; multiple compound fractures of the right arm, upper AND lower, and complete shattering of both knees which he may or may not ever be able to use again; and last, but still in surgery, seven fractured ribs and more ruptured internal organs than I can pronounce. I don't even want to know what an avulsion is." Clemente finished with a flourish. From the reaction of Bennett and Marianne, this was all news, and a shock, to both of them.

In the awkward silence that followed Logan lamely volunteered. "Well, I'm sure everyone else in the building just slept through the brown out. … it was under a minute. … I could get you the exact length of time from my Uninterruptible Power Supply system at home."

"How could they have suffered all that just from trip…" Bennett trailed off as he realized that everyone else was staring at him. It wasn't that Bennett was stupid, far from it actually, it is just that he was completely out of his depth.

"Maybe there'll be something on the tape," Logan suggested then looked at Clemente expectantly.

Clemente noted the Logan Cale was a man used to being in charge and then obligingly hit play. There was a brief introduction by Kyle, and then it cut directly to the surveillance video.

-tape-

"Hey, Matt. Everything worked like a charm. This is pretty clear, horrible, but clear. If you have any ideas on how to keep Logan from finding out it was his own family that hired the hit, I'm open."

-/tape-

Bennett actually gasped. Marianne's jaw dropped a bit, but she made no sound.

Logan stiffened. _I guess that explains why Kyle asked Eyes-Only to keep this information from me. I should have known. Ironic. _

The detectives noted the shock, surprise and lack thereof respectively, and then proceeded to pay very close attention to find out who they needed to arrest.

∞∞∞∞

Max cringed, completely helpless to protect the man she loved from the pain she knew he was about to suffer.

∞∞∞∞

-tape-

"Good morning, son. I'm glad you're well. I've received the most disturbing reports about your brothers."

"And I thought you might be upset."

"You are damn right I am upset! What the hell were you thinking?"

"That they are useless! Bennett was a damn bleeding heart and he's dating that …that…"

-/tape-

"Adam?" Bennett stammered in disbelief. Marianne took his hand, an obvious gesture of comfort.

Logan wondered where Max was. He'd probably been grumpy enough to drive her away for days. She was out running around when she wasn't feeling well, for him, and he was grumpy with her. Belatedly, he wondered if she was alright.

-tape-

"Is. Bennett is fine."

"What?"

"They are all fine. The security at Logan's apartment complex managed to capture your cheap thugs. Damn, Adam, how could you have been so stupid? I assumed that it was either you or Joseph that hired them. From your comments it was you. You think they won't tell the police that?"

"I didn't use my real name. I paid them the deposit in cash."

"Can they identify what you look like?"

"How did I sire such a fool? I'm tempted to order blood tests!"

-/tape-

Bennett looked completely heartbroken. "Dad? Adam hired someone to kill me and your first concern is he might get caught?" he whispered.

"**Now**, can I not like your family?" Marianne asked.

Bennett only nodded.

Logan couldn't bring himself to say anything at all.

-tape-

"I thought the risk of them being able to identify me would be less than bringing in another person."

"Fool. You think I don't have people that I can trust?"

"I didn't think you would have wanted anything to do with this."

"You should have come to me. This was pointless and foolish. How dare you even consider harming your brothers? Have you no loyalty? No allegiance? No damn sense?"

"If Logan isn't dead before next year he is going to get half of everything! Just because he is the only surviving child of his father! He doesn't do anything for the company! He never has! He doesn't deserve anything! Not even what he is getting now!"

"Through?"

"Yes."

"Logan does deserve what he is getting now. He's a Cale."

-/tape-

Logan foolishly felt a glimmer of hope, for a second. It only made the next blow more crushing.

-tape-

"The amount that he is getting is a pittance compared to what is at stake. Logan doesn't even know about the will, and he never had to. You said it yourself; he never has anything to do with the corporation or the trust fund. He trusts **me** to handle all of that, you fool. It is the investigation that your ridiculous attempted murder is going to trigger that might bring the will out into the open."

"The administrator of the estate would have informed him."

"No, actually, I wouldn't have." Jonas glared at Adam until it sunk in.

"Oh. So now what?"

-/tape-

"Go to jail, go directly to jail, do not collect squat!" Sung muttered angrily.

Bennett looked close to tears.

Logan's expression remained stoic and grim.

Clemente just took notes furiously. Paper for the notes about what was on the tape and mental notes about Logan Cale, the strength he displayed, the allegiance he inspired, the resources that were deployed for his benefit and the speed at which those resources were deployed. The subtleties here were far more intriguing than the now solved attempted homicide case.

-tape-

"I'll see if I can shut down the investigation. If Logan finds out about the will then we **will have to kill him** or go broke just trying to cover up this little fiasco of yours. From now on - you come through me, and if you ever try to harm any of your brothers again I will punish you. Remember, I do have people I can trust. It's amazing what you can survive."

-/tape-

" … oh, god …," Bennett whispered. Marianne took him in her arms and held him.

Logan took very slow and deliberate breaths, reaching back to techniques Bling had shown him to deal with the pain right after his injury. They worked.

"That isn't enough to get a conviction against Jonas Cale with the kind of lawyer he could hire," Clemente informed his people.

"Logan, what is Kyle's number?" Matt asked him.

"2-0-6-5-5-5-0-1-3-5-7-6-3-3," Logan rattles off in a monotone.

Matt dials the number. Clemente hits the speaker-phone button. Matt greets Kyle appropriately, "Hey there, Kyle. It's Matt."

"Matt! Great! I have been trying to get hold of you. You get the flash drive?"

"Yeah, thanks," Matt answers.

"Jonas called some dude named Vincent Cassel in Precinct 13. He agreed to shut down the investigation for him. Normally, I could beam the file to Logan, but we're trying to keep him out of this one."

"Too late," Matt replied.

"Damn. Is he OK?" Kyle asked.

Matt watched Logan stoically take his laptop out of the bag hanging on the back of his wheelchair. "He will be. Send the file."

"Tell Logan I'm sorry and if there is anything I, or anyone, can do just let me know. He should have the file any second now."

"Thanks, Kyle. We'll keep in touch."

"Anytime."

Logan is hitting keys and opening and closing programs faster than anyone can follow. He plays the file incriminating Vincent Cassel and Jonas Cale, and then puts it on a secure digital card and gives it to Matt.

"How are you getting these files?" Marianne asked. The fact that a detective was just now asking was more evidence of how distressed she was by this case; how too-close-to-home it really was.

"The first set was delivered by courier. Kyle e-mailed me the last one," Logan replied.

The other two detectives just stared at her. Marianne took the hint and dropped the subject, for now.

Logan made a valiant effort to change the subject. "So Bennett, I take it you know Marianne?"

Bennett smiled and looked up at her lovingly. "Yeah, very well."

"Actually according to the information we found in the perpetrators vehicle, I am the reason that there were four of them, instead of just two. They knew I was likely to be with Bennett." Marianne left the 'at 3 am' part unspoken.

Bennett beamed at her. "I've got a very formidable woman."

If Logan could have laughed at that point, he would have. Matt almost did.

∞∞∞∞

Max wished Logan would have said he did too, then cursed herself for being so … unreasonable.

Bling returned from making a few phone calls that he did not want anyone to overhear. He noticed Max sitting at Matt's desk. She looked absolutely miserable, but he wasn't certain if it was genuine of for the benefit of those she did not want to approach her. He obtained two cups of coffee and joined her.

"Hey," he said. Bling held out one of the cups.

"Kyle tell you?" Max asked in a listless monotone that was very uncharacteristic for her.

"It was his family?" Bling guessed.

Max nodded miserably but made no motion towards the cup. Bling correctly concluded she genuinely was as upset as she appeared.

"Does Logan know yet?" Bling asked, even though he already knew the answer.

Max nodded. "His cousin Adam set up the hit. His uncle Jonas didn't know about it, but is going to try and cover it up and possibly finish the job."

Bling waved the cup of coffee under her nose until she took it.

"Damn." This was an entirely different kind of blow than those that he had been helping Logan overcome this past year, and Bling didn't know how to help him over this one. Bling knew Logan was strong, but still, every man had his limits and his weaknesses. They sat in silence for several minutes both trying unsuccessfully to think of some way to help Logan.

"I don't know how to help him. He's hurting, and I don't know how to help." Max was as upset as Bling had ever seen her. "I'd do anything for him, but there isn't a tactical solution for this."

_Actually that's the best idea so far. If you can't distract Logan, nothing will. _"Tell him that. Just exactly the way you told me. Nothing is going to eliminate the pain of knowing his blood relations would have him killed for money, but at least he will know that he has other people in the world that care about him. Adopted families are the only kind that a lot of people have and sometimes the only kind that are any good."

Max nodded, tried to smile and drank.

∞∞∞∞

Clemente resisted the urge to let out a low whistle as he looked over the rest of the files on the flash drive. "Looks like we've got everything nicely gift wrapped. I'll call the DA and tell them to get to work. Music, get with Internal Affairs and set up on Cassel; I want the case against him air-tight. Sung, go see if you can find a judge that will quietly issue warrants for the arrest of Adam and Jonas. Bennett, I think you're safe now; you can go home. Logan, you may still have someone after you. Would you like us to place you in protective custody until we get this sorted out?"

"No," Logan replied flatly, his attention seemingly never leaving his computer. "I think my security is adequate. It's probably already been increased." He quickly routed an e-mail through his secure server to Judge Albert Hawthorn, who has been a member of the Informant Net since before it was known as the Informant Net, letting him know to expect a request for a warrant from Detective Matt Sung and that Matt can be trusted. Then he sent a quick text message to Matt's cell phone notifying him of which judge will be amiable to his unusual request.

"I'm sure it is." Clemente smiled, even he could recognize the understatement. "Okay, people, get to work! What are you waiting for?"

Marianne gave Bennett a quick hug and then dashed off to work.

Bennett told Logan, "I'm so sorry. I …" and leaves without looking back, thanking Logan for the fact that his security probably saved his life or even realizing that he owed his life to his cousin.

Sung hesitated, wanting to make sure Logan was all right. When he received his text message, he really hoped it meant that Logan would be. He immediately went to his desk, and was relieved to see Max and Bling waiting there. He trusted them to look after Logan.

Logan put away his laptop and left Clemente's office with a polite nod.

Clemente shut and locked his office door. It took him less than ten minutes to pull up the date that Logan Cale was injured and the fact that he was shot; and then correlate that to date of the ambush of the witness against Edgar Sonrisa in the Cortodiazapine mess. Everyone saw that dramatic footage with two men killed and one critically wounded. Everybody knew that it was Eyes-Only that had gone after Edgar Sonrisa in the first place. That would explain everything. Another mystery solved. This was his day. He knew which of his detectives could tap the power of Eyes-Only and his contact within the Informant Net, but he didn't know anything officially in the event some damn fool decided to go after Eyes Only. It was perfect; and definitely worth letting a few lame stories involving beaten down perpetrators slide. If he didn't know for certain that it was rigged, he'd have purchased a lottery ticket today.

Clemente wasn't surprised when Matt Sung miraculously managed to get the arrest warrants is just under an hour.

∞∞∞∞

… to be continued.


End file.
